This article is by Sheila Wisz Ellayn. It was a beautiful summer evening on July 4th, 1862, when Reverend Robinson Duckworth began to row a boat on the Thames to take the Liddell sisters home, after having enjoyed a picnic earlier that day. The three young girls were the daughters of Henry Liddell, the Dean … Read more
There are creatures whose hunger knows no satisfaction. These creatures intend to fulfill this hunger with insatiable abandon. Once they acquire someone – or something – to host them, the party is sure to go long, and make a nasty mess. And, no, it isn’t your 20 year old son living in your basement. But … Read more
This article is by Sheila Wisz Ellayn. I joined the wonderful community of Mythic Scribes in November of 2011. During my first weeks here, something surprised me. That was how most of the other members were trying to make their fantasy settings as realistic as possible. I am in love with surreal and impossible settings … Read more
If you’ve ever thought about entering the exciting world of podcasting, and it is exciting, then it’s always good to know what you’re getting into. It may not necessarily be for everyone, and when I was first approached to do one I thought, “Uh, really?” There was some apprehension, but it was something I’d … Read more
This article is by John M. Haley. Not long ago, I started a web comic called “Huntresses Attack Monsters …in 2D!” I did it because I was itching to do something with characters I created long ago, and I felt like doing something different. I didn’t just jump into the project all willy-nilly. I read … Read more
This article is by Nicholas Cockayne.
Sadly the answer would seem to be, yes.
Firstly, it is worth stating that the fantasy genre gets a lot of bad press for having no literary value, a totally untrue assertion. Fantasy literature is almost unrivalled in its ability to transport the reader to different worlds of imagination, to inspire a little magic into the mundane humdrum of everyday life, to explore the best and the worst of the human character.
The clash of blades, sparks flying. The barbarian with his twenty-pound two-handed sword, swinging for your head. The epic showdown with acrobatics… now that’s fantasy.
No, like, seriously a fantasy.
And this article isn’t about any of those things. It’s about swordplay in a realistic situation, using familiar physics and historical inspiration.
We write fantasy, where the possibilities are endless.
The great journey, the valiant quest, the ongoing war between good and evil, the “chosen one” who by magic rises above peasantry and poverty to a place of heroism – these are the clichés of fantasy, and I will not defend them as clichés. But they also explore fantasy’s greatest themes.
They explore the themes of escapism. That’s part of what makes them awesome.
With fantasy, we can shuffle aside the trappings of modern society and explore life at the whims of the author and the worlds we create.